Excitement Brewing in Toronto

Bautista's wrist injury proved detrimental to the Jays' 2012 season

Toronto has had quite the excitement in both basketball and baseball these past few weeks. The Raptors made some noise when they successfully added Rudy Gay to the roster and the Blue Jays did everything they could to acquire a dominant lineup and pitching rotation throughout the offseason. With Jose Bautista missing the second half of the season with a wrist injury last year, the Blue Jays ended with an unimpressive record of 73-89. However, before Bautista went down, the Jays were second in runs scored which clearly showed their ability to produce despite having a record of 44-45 with Bautista in the lineup. But now, as Spring Training is in full swing and the season is looming, Joey Bats is back and the Blue Jays just might make a run into October.

There is no doubt that the expectations are high in Toronto, but as other professional teams have proven, maybe high expectations only lead to laughable disappointments. Two teams immediately come to mind when talking about not performing as well as people believed they could and that would be the Philadelphia Eagles and the Miami Marlins. The Eagles, whom Vince Young referred to as a "Dream Team" in the summer of 2011, finished with an 8-8 record. Not exactly a record that could give someone bragging rights much less respect after such a bold, and somewhat stupid, comment. I can respect that Vince Young set the bar high, but that put a target on the chest of the Eagles as soon as those words were made public. The Eagles had the talent to possibly be a dominant team, but they fell short.

The Marlins on the other hand, did not run their mouths. Well, never mind, Ozzie Guillen was their manager, so of course he ran his mouth at some point. However, going off the lineup the Marlins had on paper, there simply was no reason the Marlins should not have been playing playoff baseball. They had great additions with Guillen as the new skipper, All-Star shortstop Jose Reyes joining Hanley Ramirez in the infield, and Mark Buerhle joining the starting rotation. Not to mention Giancarlo Stanton was a rising star. The Marlins had it in them, but suddenly became dysfunctional and embarrassing. They finished their season at the bottom of the NL East with a shameful record of 69-93.

Jose Reyes' signing should provide fireworks in Toronto

So this brings up the Blue Jays who now look to be a serious threat to the stacked AL East. The Orioles, Yankees, Red Sox, and Tampa Bay Rays all have recent playoff experience and Toronto just may steal the show. With the addition of R.A. Dickey, Mark Buerhle, and Josh Johnson to aid the rotation, the Blue Jays have a chance to be pretty nasty night in and night out. Their lineup got even tougher with Jose Bautista's full health coinciding with the signing of Jose Reyes and Melky Cabrera. The Jays are faced with what will presumably be the toughest division in the MLB but they have the talent and veteran leadership to possibly bring the city of Toronto a World Series trophy. For now though, it's only a possibility. Only time will tell just how serious of a contender this Blue Jays team can be. Because as we've seen before, having multiple stars isn't always guaranteed to work out.

A Fan's Frustration With Philly's "Dream Team"

By: Luke Habeeb

Let us rewind eleven weeks to September 11, the start of the NFL season for the Philadelphia Eagles. The attention this team had received prior to the first kickoff was unprecedented in Philly, and everyone, from ESPN analysts to Vegas bookies, were choosing them to win the Super Bowl. This offseason, the Eagles played “New York Yankees” in the NFL and brought in Nnamdi Asomugha (All-Pro), Ronnie Brown (Pro-Bowler), Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (Pro-Bowler), Cullen Jenkins (Super Bowl winner), and Jason Babin (Pro-Bowler), to add to their already star-studded lineup. After Week 1, everything was going according to plan. The Eagles beat the St. Louis Rams handily, and were soaring high in Philly. But what happened?

Since Week 1, the team has gone 2-6, losing games against mediocre teams like the Bills and Cardinals. What irks me is the way the team lost. In all six losses the biggest one came against the New York Giants, a good team, and only by 13 points. The average margin of defeat in every game is a mere 5.8 points, less than one touchdown. Add that to the fact that the Eagles have lost five games in which they were leading in the fourth quarter, and I am not a happy camper. They have been in every game, virtually every snap, but boneheaded fourth quarter mistakes cause the team to wane. Turnovers in the red zone (after Sunday the team has 7, the most in the league), along with the inability to prevent teams from long, time consuming drives cause the team to lose focus and, in turn, give the game away.

Sunday’s game against the Cardinals was a prime example: Up 14-7 in the fourth quarter, the Cardinals drove down the field and tied it up on a good catch by Larry Fitzgerald. The offense proceeded to fail to score on its next drive, not a big deal with the time remaining. When Asomugha intercepted John Skelton on their own 26 yard line, the offense could not even register a first down and settled for a mere 3 points. Skelton then led Arizona on a game winning, 87 yard touchdown, making the star studded Philly defense look like the Indianapolis Colts scout team. After the game, LeSean McCoy said, “Late in the game, we are not going for the jugular and finishing the game the right way. It's the attitude.” McCoy has the right attitude, but he couldn’t do much with the mere two carries he received in the final quarter. Asante Samuel, one of the best players on the lackluster secondary, also had some words about the way the team has been finishing lately, "It's something we've got to figure out with seven games left. We're a good team, I don't know how far we are off of things, but it's real tough. We keep giving up the game in the last minute. It's frustrating.”

Asante, you have no idea. Try being a fan during this mess. I pour my heart and soul into this organization, buy jerseys, I even buy my girlfriend gear to wear, and how am I rewarded? With a 3-6 season, tied with the Redskins at the bottom of the division. Wait, aren’t the Redskins starting Rex Grossman? I don’t even know who their starting running back is! I can’t name more than ten players on their roster and I’m an avid football fan. How the heck are the Eagles in the same place as them? It has been a dreadful season, and I can’t imagine it getting much better. What will make me happier is if the Philly CHANGES THE DEFENSE TO MAN COVERAGE (This is a whole other topic, don’t get me started). I mean seriously, with Samuel, Rodgers-Cromartie, and Asomugha, opposing teams’ receivers shouldn’t be getting any looks, but for some reason, the package defense is zonal? Please tell me how that makes sense. This all roots back to Jim Johnson’s death (RIP, we miss you dearly), and Andy Reid’s decision to make Juan Castillo, the OFFENSIVE LINE COACH, the new defensive coordinator for this loaded defense. Wait, so an o-line coach (a fairly good one at that) has been managing the defense all year, while the offensive line allows Vick to get absolutely nailed game after game, snap after snap?! Yes, this makes complete sense, Andy. This team has the talent to go undefeated the rest of the year, but it’s highly unlikely. The only other scenario in which I will be satisfied with the season is if they somehow screw the Cowboys or Giants from a wildcard playoff spot.

Luke Habeeb is a contributor to the World of Wadley site. He is currently a freshman in college studying Political Science at North Central College in Naperville, Illinois.